The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, at its meeting June 8-10, 2016, reviewed the Midterm Report and the evidentiary materials submitted by Imperial Valley College. College leadership, including the president of the governing board and the College president, certified the Report. The purpose of the Commission's review was to determine whether the College continues to meet Eligibility Requirements, Accreditation Standards, and Commission policies (hereafter called Standards). The Commission also examined the College's implementation of its own plans for improvement that were identified in the 2013 Self Evaluation Report, as well as an update demonstrating the College has maintained compliance with Standards associated with Recommendations 1,2, 5, and 6 from the 2007 comprehensive evaluation team report.

After considering all of the written material noted above, the Commission finds that the College has sustained the work accomplished since the last comprehensive evaluation and has maintained compliance with the Standards previously identified in the 2013 comprehensive evaluation team report and linked to Recommendations 1 through 8, all of which the College satisfactorily addressed, and resolved associated deficiencies, by the time of its 2015 Follow-Up Report.

IMPERIAL – At a press conference today at Imperial Valley College, college and sheriff's officials assured staff and students that the campus was opened today only after a man accused of making threats against IVC had been arrested and there was no danger to students.

"IVC is committed to insuring the safety of our students and employees," said Sergio Lopez, Imperial Valley College's interim vice president for Student Services. He said counselors and a crisis team have been made available to help students suffering from anxiety or other issues as a result of the threat, which was well-publicized on social media.

A man accused of making the threat was arrested three hours after authorities were notified.

"Based on our investigation, we were not able to discover anything to make this a real threat," said Imperial County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Jimmy Duran. "We do not believe (students) are in any danger based on the outcome of this investigation."

The threat was made on Facebook on Wednesday and reported to authorities shortly after 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. IVC posted a message on the College's Facebook account soon after midnight to alert students and staff of the threat, a second post was made shortly after 3 a.m. of the decision to keep the campus open. An email was additionally sent out to the campus community.

The incident began Wednesday night after IVC staff began receiving calls from students about the Facebook post, Lopez said. "We were able to ascertain an address," he said, crediting the community, staff, students and the Sheriff's Office for a quick resolution.

The man accused of making the threats was identified by the Sheriff's Office as Raymond Martinez, 18, who was taken into custody about 1:30 a.m. today at his home in Calexico, Duran said. Martinez was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats.

There appears to be no clear motive, said Duran. No weapons were found at the home, Duran said, "and we determined he did not have access to weapons." The investigation is continuing.

Attendance today appeared to be down, Lopez said, but by how much is not yet known.

"We will probably have a better idea tomorrow," he said.

For students who opted to stay home today, faculty has been given the option of allowing students to take makeup tests, Lopez said, although that decision is being left up to each instructor.

The college has been reviewing its safety procedures and policies in the wake of recent attacks on college campuses in other parts of the United States. Last week, IVC students and staff were sent information by email detailing what to do in the event of an active shooting event, as well as how to contact campus security.

The college has a policy forbidding weapons, including firearms, knives and explosives. A state law was signed last week by Gov. Jerry Brown outlawing handguns on campuses throughout the state, excluding those carried current or retired law enforcement officers.

(Reprinted with permission of the Imperial Valley Press) By MARIO RENTERIA, Managing Editor | The Imperial Valley College recently received $5.8 million from the Career Pathways Grant as it looks to continue to help students advance in their education. The grant, started in July 2014, funds a handful of education institutes that establish regional collaborative relationships and partnerships with business entities, community organizations and local institutions of postsecondary education, states the California Department of Education website. On Friday, IVC had a presentation with Sen. Ben Hueso, representatives of the IVC board of trustees and Imperial County Sheriff's Office on hand. The grant basically enables students throughout the Imperial Valley to take college credit course in high school, guaranteeing them admission to the California State University system. "We will offer the Allied Health and law enforcement academies to the middle school students and we will create a first-level modular academy, which is post level 1, with creating that level will fully enable us to offer the police academy locally, which is something our local law enforcement agencies will truly benefit from," said Martha Garcia, the economic and workforce development coordinator at IVC during Friday's presentation. "Obviously we continue to strengthen the relationship with our community and our employers," she said. "We truly are grateful." Hueso presented for the ceremonial check presentation. "This funding opens the door of opportunity and provides the keys to future success," said Hueso in a previous statement. "I am thrilled this funding will empower our youth by providing them with this amazing opportunity and in turn improve their quality of life."

A new pathway may soon open up for Imperial Valley students hoping to earn a four-year degree locally, as Imperial Valley College last week entered into a memorandum of understanding with CETYS University in Mexicali.

The MOU between the two institutions establishes an exchange program, allowing students to do their first two college years at IVC and then transfer to CETYS - the only Mexican university with Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation - for their final two years.

Congratulations to all of our 2014 graduates! This was our largest class ever and the first graduation to be live streamed on graduation day. Good luck to all of our students in their future endeavors and we look forward to all that you will accomplish! Go IVC!

Additional Information and Forums Schedule

Imperial Valley College will be "on the road" over the next two months, seeking opinions and input from local citizens during 11 local community forums as it develops its new strategic Master Plan and vision for the future.

Two additional forums will be held on campus.

"This will be the fourth time in the past 10 years that we have held these listening forums throughout the Valley," said IVC President Victor Jaime. "The information we compile from the public has resulted in monumental changes to both our instructional programs as well as our facilities."

The forums are the foundational step for the college's 2014-2017 strategic plan that will be developed over the next year.

"Most importantly, we will also have a comfort level that we are truly heading in the same direction as our broader community," Jaime said.

Faculty members, administrators and other IVC staff as well as students will be serving as focus group hosts, facilitators and recorders."This is a total effort by our full campus and I really appreciate the enthusiasm we are getting as we start this process," Jaime said. "We have a great staff and this will give us an opportunity to showcase them even more as we have this discourse with our customers."

The campus forums are noon September 19 and 5 p.m. November 7.

The community meetings begin Tuesday, September 24, with a 6 p.m. forum in the El Centro Chamber of Commerce offices, 1095 S. Fourth Street, El Centro.

It will continue at 6 p.m. Thursday, September 26, in the Calipatria Unified School District Board Room, 501 W. Main St., Calipatria

Imperial Valley College has been notified that it is one of six community colleges in the state that has been issued a "Warning" as the result of the comprehensive accreditation evaluation conducted on campus last March.

"While this is officially a 'sanction,' it is basically what we had hoped for given the fiscal challenges we have faced over the past several years," said IVC President Victor Jaime." Jaime said the status is the lowest sanction that is issued and really does not come as a surprise.

"IVC remains fully accredited," said Jaime, and will continue to work on the fiscal issues that have faced the campus. "The fact that a Vice President of the ACCJC was part of our evaluation is unprecedented and truly shows the confidence the commission has on our ability to provide quality education," said Jaime.

The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges took the action at its June 5 to 7 meeting. Colleges can be reaffirmed with no sanctions, issued a warning, placed on probation or given a "show cause" status which is the step before losing accreditation.

Of the 13 colleges that received full accreditation reviews, six were reaffirmed, six were issued warnings and one was placed on probation. The commission also voted to terminate accreditation of the City College of San Francisco which had been placed on "Show Cause" status last year.

An eight-person accreditation team spent three days on campus evaluating the college in March. The team was led by Susan Clifford, a commission vice president.

In the team's exit interview, Clifford commended IVC on the quality of student learning and its partnership with San Diego State University–Imperial Valley campus in Calexico.

The team was critical of IVC on fiscal planning issues, stating the college could do a better job of balancing its expenses and revenues to keep from using its reserve fund.

It also praised IVC for recognizing the problem early and proactively dealing with it by voluntarily calling in the state's Fiscal Crisis and Management Assessment team (FCMAT) last year. Since that group's report, IVC has taken a number of steps to correct the fiscal situation that was created by the state's budget crisis.

IMPERIAL, Calif.—Imperial Valley College had a growth spurt in the last three years with a techno-new science building, expanded parking facilities, updated classrooms, and water-friendly landscaping.

While the science building is impressive, parking is now abundant, and learning in 21st century classrooms is a reality, it's the often-overlooked things like one small, bright desert flower, a lush green lawn, or a 40-foot tree providing relief from the heat that might help to nurture pride and performance in study-weary students, faculty and staff.

With this facelift came the new philosophy of landscaping the campus with a more "green-friendly," energy-efficient technology—xeriscaping.